Transport will be affected across the country, with no metro trains running in Delhi and other cities
New Delhi: Over a billion people across the country are staying put in their homes today in one of the biggest national exercises to counter the threat from the highly contagious COVID-19, a disease spread by the Novel Coronavirus, which has disrupted economies and killed thousands across the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday stepped in to announce what he called a "janata curfew" or self-imposed quarantine to break the chain of coronavirus infections, which the World Health Organisation (WHO) says spread through person-to-person contact and respiratory droplets. "There is no cure for this, so we need to remain healthy. We need to avoid crowds and stay home. Social distancing is critical. If you think you can roam around as usual and feel you will not be at risk, this is incorrect; you are endangering yourself and your family," PM Modi said in his 29-minute address to the nation.
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The one-day "janata curfew" has been necessitated by the rising cases of COVID-19 across India. A woman in Pune and a man in West Bengal – both without any history of foreign travel – tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday, signalling a worrying trend of possible community transmission as COVID-19 cases in India rose to 315 on Saturday.
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Except businesses and government establishments dealing in essential items and services, all others will remain shut today. Businesses have voluntarily announced they would follow the PM's call for self-quarantine.
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Transport will be affected across the country. No trains – long-distance or suburban – will run, the railways has said, but those already running won't be stopped during the day. Several airlines including IndiGo and GoAir have said they will either operate in minimum capacity or cancel all flights. No metro trains will run in Delhi, Bengaluru and other cities.
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On Saturday, people posted videos on social media of their dry run to show appreciation to health professionals and other workers who're at the frontline in the war against COVID-19. PM Modi had asked citizens to make themselves seen at their homes clapping at 5 pm in show of support to those working out in the field while the entire country is on a self-quarantine mode.
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The gradual shutdown across the country – Rajasthan is the latest in the long list of states that have announced safety curbs – has hit businesses hard. The travel sector has taken the biggest hit with booking cancellations.
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Hundreds of people jostled in long queues to board trains at Mumbai's Lokmanya Tilak Terminus station on Saturday, as they were put on 17 special trains to take them to Bihar and other states in north India. Health specialists have warned that large-scale population shifts to rural areas could hasten the spread of coronavirus in India.
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The railways has asked people to postpone all journeys after 12 people who travelled this month were found to be infected with coronavirus. Lakhs of people use the railways everyday; the coaches are often full of people, which raises the risk of the coronavirus spreading very fast.
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There has been much criticism against people who have come from abroad and skipped quarantine. The teen son of an Indian Administrative Officer in Kolkata, who returned from the UK, possibly came into contact with many before testing positive for coronavirus. In another case, the family of the wife of a Google employee in Bengaluru, whose husband tested positive for coronavirus, allegedly misled health authorities over her whereabouts.
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Singer Kanika Kapoor, who shared on social media that she has tested positive for coronavirus, has been accused of "negligence" in a police complaint. A dinner that she attended in Lucknow has caused a scare among several senior politicians all the way to Delhi, including parliament and the President's House.
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Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. The COVID-19 is a new strain that was discovered last year in China's Wuhan and has not been previously identified in humans. Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people.
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